Bradley reveals solid Gold Cup roster

Two of the three forwards play at MLS, and I would assume Juan Agudelo of New York Red Bulls and Jozy Altidore of Bursaspor will start if Bradley plays with two forwards. Former Dynamo player Chris Wondolowski of the San Jose Earthquakes is the other forward on the roster. Clint Dempsey of Fulham is listed as a midfielder.

I would argue that Landon Donovan of the Galaxy is the best midfielder in CONCACAF, and he’s a major reason I predict the U.S. will win the Gold Cup. Mexico easily has the best pair of forwards in the Gold Cup with Javier “El Chicharito” Hernandez and Giovany Dos Santos. But will the Mexican midfield be strong enough to compete with the U.S. midfield?

Moreover, the U.S. seems to have the edge over Mexico because Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard is the best goalkeeper in CONCACAF and likely could be the difference if the teams meet in the finals.

Would love to see Real Salt Lake’s Nick Rimando get a start in goal during the group stage. The MLS All-Star deserves a start for the national team. The U.S. midfield would have been much stronger if Stuart Holden had been healthy.

It’s no surprise that there isn’t a Dynamo player on the U.S. roster, but Brad Davis definitely deserved consideration. Davis has easily been the Dynamo’s most consistent and best player.

Below is the complete press release that I received from U.S. Soccer. As I did in the World Cup, I’ll post it all so you can enjoy:

U.S. Men’s National Team head coach Bob Bradley has named the 23-man roster that will seek to capture the team’s fifth CONCACAF Gold Cup title at the 2011 edition of the tournament that takes place from June 5-25 in 13 venues across the United States.

The USA will begin Group C play on June 7 against Canada at Ford Field in Detroit at 8 p.m. ET. Group play continues June 11 against Panama at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla., with kickoff slated for 8 p.m. ET. The group stage will end for the U.S. on June 14 against Guadeloupe at 8 p.m. CT at the newly christened LIVESTRONG Park in Kansas City, Kan. The broadcast schedule is expected to be announced in the near future.

The U.S. will use the same roster to take on 2010 FIFA World Cup champion Spain on June 4 in Foxborough, Mass. Kickoff against the current No.1-ranked team in the world is set for 4:30 p.m. ET, and the match will be broadcast live on ESPN and Univision. Fans can follow all of the USA’s action this summer live on ussoccer.com’s MatchTracker and on Twitter @ussoccer.

The team will begin gathering for training May 26 in Cary, N.C. Players who are still involved in league competition will join camp following their weekend matches.

“We have said since the start of the new cycle that winning the Gold Cup this year is a top priority, and that was our focus as we built this roster,” said Bradley. “We have a very experienced group, and we know that in a tournament like this all 23 players will need to contribute in order for us to be successful.”

The U.S. roster is packed with experience, returning 14 players from the squad that won its group at the 2010 FIFA World Cup. There are 11 players on the roster with a Gold Cup title to their credit, with Landon Donovan a three-time winner. Donovan, who is the USA’s all-time leader in Gold Cup scoring with 12 career goals, is one appearance shy of tying Kasey Keller (23) for the most ever by a U.S. player. Carlos Bocanegra, who has captained the United States since 2007, Clint Dempsey and Oguchi Onyewu have each collected a pair of championships. At the other end of the spectrum, nine players will be playing in their first Gold Cup finals.

Sixteen players on the roster are plying their trade overseas. Tim Howard backstops the U.S. defense, carrying 58 caps and 20 career shutouts into this summer. He earned Man of the Match honors in the USA’s 2-0 win against Spain in the semifinal of the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, ending their 35-match unbeaten run. In central defense, Clarence Goodson joins Bocanegra and Onyewu, the Brondy-based defender appearing in his second Gold Cup after scoring the game-winner in the 2009 semifinal against Honduras. Steve Cherundolo makes his debut for the U.S. in 2011, having captained Hannover to a fourth-place finish in the Bundesliga and a place in the Europa League. Tim Ream is the only MLS-based defender on the roster, the 2010 Rookie of the Year finalist bringing three national team appearances into his first confederation championship.

Along with Dempsey and Donovan in the midfield, veterans Michael Bradley and Maurice Edu are joined by Jermaine Jones, who is making his debut in an international tournament for the United States. Benny Feilhaber was the hero of the 2007 Gold Cup final, his stunning volley lifting the U.S. to a 2-1 victory against Mexico that earned the U.S. a place in the 2009 Confederations Cup in South Africa. Both Robbie Rogers and Sacha Kljestan were on the USA’s 30-man preliminary roster for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, while Freddy Adu has been included in the full team for the first since the 2009 Gold Cup.

Jozy Altidore leads the attacking contingent and will be participating in his first Gold Cup. Into double digits in scoring for the United States, he tallied the game-winner in the Confederations Cup semifinal against Spain. Juan Agudelo was the first U.S. Soccer Development Academy alumnus to play for the full team and has two goals in four appearances. Chris Wondolowski, the 2010 MLS Golden Boot winner, currently ranks third on the MLS scoring charts with five goals in 10 matches.

Three players enter the tournament having collected honors with their clubs. Dempsey finished a fantastic season at Fulham where he set both the single-season record for an American scoring in the English Premier League (12 goals) and set the club mark for career goals in the EPL (33). Edu helped Rangers complete the domestic double, capturing their third-straight Scottish Premier League crown as well as the Scottish FA Cup. Onyewu, on loan to FC Twente, was part of the team that won the Dutch FA Cup.

The United States has won four Gold Cup championships since the tournament began in 1991, including three of the last five, and has reached the final of the last three editions of the event. Incredibly, the U.S. has never lost a match in group play, holding a 23-0-2 lifetime record. Overall, the U.S. has a 38-5-6 record in Gold Cup action.